


Not Another Fairchild

by LadyHolmesOf221BBakerStreet



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Asexual Raphael Santiago, BAMF Alec Lightwood, BAMF Isabelle Lightwood, Background Clary Fray/Simon Lewis, Background Relationships, Bisexual Isabelle Lightwood, Camille Belcourt Being An Asshole, Canon-Typical Violence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Downworlders, Dysfunctional Family, Experimentation, F/F, F/M, Family Drama, Family Secrets, Friendship/Love, Insecure Alec Lightwood, Lies, M/M, Pansexual Character, Parabatai, Parabatai Bond, Parabatai Feels, Protective Alec Lightwood, Protective Isabelle Lightwood, Protective Jace Wayland, Protective Simon Lewis, Raphael is a Little Shit, Shadowhunter Training, Slow Burn, Supportive Isabelle Lightwood, Valentine Morgenstern Being an Asshole, Vampire Simon Lewis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 14:07:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19442977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyHolmesOf221BBakerStreet/pseuds/LadyHolmesOf221BBakerStreet
Summary: Everything changed the day Clary turned eighteen.Lizzy Fray's entire world fell apart and rebuilt itself,  the finished product much more frightening than she could have imagined. Secrets revealed and trust broken, who can she turn to when it feels like she's drowning?She certainly never expected it to be the cocky blond with an ego that actually managed to exceed her own.





	1. Author's Note

Please, let me start by saying...

Welcome to my story; I do hope your stay will be enjoyable. This will not be a Clace fic; so, if that is what you're looking for, I'm afraid you'll have to look somewhere else. If you aren't looking for a Clace fic then...

Now, I am a huge fan of freedom of opinion; however, unnecessarily mean or cruel comments aren't just a waste of my time, but yours as well. If, for whatever reason, you don't find yourself enjoying any of my work, please find another story.

We're all here because we love to read or write, and no one should put others down for any reason. With that said, I love to hear creative criticism and take what you say under serious consideration when I write chapters. If there is something you would like to see, please let me know and I will do my best to incorporate it into my story if possible.

Also, this is a fanfiction, which means it will not completely follow the series which I am solely basing it on. 

I do not own any characters save my OC's; all other characters, places, etc, belong to Cassandra Clare.

I think, as far as disclaimers go, this pretty much covers most of it.

So...


	2. Cast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These are lines that will actually be featured in this fic and also who will be playing who in my story. I will be covering all seasons.

**Lucy Hale** as **Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Fray**

****

_"We don't have time for your Team Edward or Team Jacob bullshit right now. We need to save the sea lion!"_

_"Seelie."_

_"Right, that one!"_

**Dominic Sherwood** as **Jace Wayland**

****

_"It's a witchlight. We carry it around to remind us that light can be found in even the darkest of places."_

_"Whatever you say, Dumbledore."_

**Katherine McNamara** as **Clary Fray**

****

_"I can't believe you said that to a werewolf!"_

_"Believe me, it was the least offensive dog joke I had."_

**Matthew Daddario** as **Alec Lightwood**

****

_"I'm doing what's right."_

_"To hell with what's right! I swear to God if you sink my ship before it has time to sail I will end you, Alec Lightwood!"_

**Harry Shum Jr** as **Magnus Bane**

****

_"How about some pizza, cupcake?"_

_"Can I have pizza_ and _a cupcake?"_

_"I don't see why not."_

_"I think I'm in love."_

**Emeraude Toubia** as **Isabelle Lightwood**

****

_"What happens if phase one of Operation Malec doesn't work?"_

_"We go to phase two."_

_"What's phase two?"_

_"Well, I'd say we put them in a closet but since we're already trying to get Alec out of one, we should probably use a different room."_

**Alberto Rosende** as **Simon Lewis**

****

_"I'm a vampire!"_

_"So?"_

_"I'm a monster, Lizzy!"_

_"Not all monsters do monstrous things."_

_"Did you just quote Teen Wolf at me?"_

_"…Maybe."_


	3. The Mortal Cup Part I

Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Fray could tell you _right now_ and with _absolute confidence_ that she looked _nothing_ like her younger sister. For one, she certainly had a lot more colour to her skin than her sister's pale complexion offered. She also hadn't inherited the Fray red hair. Her mother had told her it was because she took after her father; though, Lizzy never missed the way she would cringe and avoid meeting her eyes when she said this.

It didn't bother Lizzy though; she liked standing out and was all too happy to do so. Right now, Lizzy was sitting at a table in Java Jones', waiting for Simon to arrive so she at least had someone to converse with instead of slipping further into the deep, fathomless pits of boredom.

She perked up when someone slipped onto the chair opposite her only to deflate when she realised it wasn't anyone she knew.

They guy was cute; she'd give him that much. He had a square jaw and piercing blue eyes that were partially covered by a mop of brown hair that couldn't possibly be styled the way it was naturally. His clothes were expensive and the cocky smirk on his face told her that he was probably an only child that was used to getting exactly what he wanted. Any other day of the week, she'd be happy to _entertain_ him but today was about Clary and she wasn't in the mood to flirt with Abercrombie right now.

"Not interested," she said the moment he opened his mouth to speak. His cocky smirk fell from his face and Lizzy pressed her lips to keep from smiling. "Not going to happen," she continued when he tried to say something again. Lizzy watched his jaw clench and his right eye develop a tick as he smiled tightly, obviously still trying to be charming.

He opened his mouth to say something again and Lizzy prepared to let loose on the guy so bad he'd avoid her for the rest of his life when his mouth snapped closed and his eyes narrowed. Moments later, Lizzy felt an arm drape across her shoulder before soft lips were pressing to her forehead. She inhaled deeply, relaxing as the smell of Simon's body spray surrounded her senses. Lizzy smiled sweetly, turning her head to look into his eyes as he smiled back at her boyishly.

"Sorry, I'm late," he told her as she placed a quick kiss at the corner of his mouth. Simon turned his head to look at Abercrombie and smiled a little more widely, "who's your friend?"

"I was just leaving," Abercrombie muttered before he stood from the chair and stomped off to sulk in a corner.

The moment he was gone, Lizzy slumped into her chair with a drawn-out groan. "Thank you, you're a lifesaver," she told her friend as he sat in the seat Abercrombie had just vacated.

"No problem, Lizzy," he grinned, his cheeks tinged with pink as he adjusted his glasses, "how long have you been here?"

Lizzy checked her phone and shrugged, "little over an hour; my lesson finished early."

"How's Marcel?" Simon questioned as a coffee was placed in front of him before the waitress walked off.

Marcel was Lizzy's Krav Maga instructor. She had been taking lessons with him since she was fourteen after she had been mugged by some jerks on her way home from school. It had been the feeling of utter helplessness that had pushed her to want to do it, telling her mum that she _never_ wanted to be in a position where she felt like that ever again. Of course, her mother had told her no and it had been Luke who had offered to pay for her lessons until she could do it herself. They still hadn't told her mum that she had been attending lessons three times a week for the last four and a half years.

"He's good," she smiled, "absentmindedly stirring her coffee, "he's going to London for a couple of weeks so I won't be having anymore lessons until he comes back." Her eyes met Simon's and she grinned, "Luke said he'll practice with me when he's not at work. I'm hoping to convince him to teach me to shoot a gun."

Simon choked on the mouthful of coffee he had been about to swallow and Lizzy laughed at the horrified expression on her friend's face. "I'm kidding," she chuckled as she handed him a napkin, "relax, Si."

He glared playfully at her as he wiped his mouth and cleaned up the area of the table, he had spilt coffee on. "Real funny, Liz," he deadpanned.

Lizzy shrugged, "I thought it was," she retorted. "Anyway, where are we going after your gig tonight?" she questioned.

"Which, thank you, by the way," Simon answered, "how'd you managed to get it for us on such short notice anyway?"

She smiled coyly, "I used my charms."

Simon shook his head at his friend, knowing exactly what _charms_ she was speaking about, having been on the receiving end of them one too many times to count. When she had first used it on him, he had been afraid he was going to hurt her feelings when he finally worked up the courage to tell her he only saw her as a friend. She had merely rolled her eyes affectionately, telling him that she didn't see him like that in the slightest and anyone with half a functioning brain could tell he was totally into Clary.

" _Just not my sister, apparently,_ " she had told him, " _and unless you literally spell it out for her in flashing neon lights that's never going to change, Si._ "

"Did the poor sucker even stand a chance?" he muttered, earning a playful glare from the woman sitting opposite him.

"He certainly had no complaints," she bragged, studying her perfectly manicured nails, "not that they ever do," she grinned.

Simon laughed at Lizzy's answer before he noticed something poking out of the sleeve of her leather jacket. His eyes widened and he grabbed her wrist, ignoring her indignant 'hey!' as he pulled up her sleeve and stared at the tattoo.

"Your mum is totally going to kill you," was the first thing out of his mouth once he found the ability to speak again.

"What are you talk…" Lizzy trailed off as she noticed the tattoo, her eyes widening, "holy shit! Where the hell did that come from?!"

Simon looked at Lizzy, her eyes wide and her face pale, "you didn't know you had a tattoo?"

Lizzy looked at him like he had just told her the Earth was flat, "of course, I didn't know!" she hissed at him, "and I can guarantee it wasn't there when I got dressed this morning!"

"You don't need to lie to me, Lizzy," Simon soothed her, "you're almost nineteen, if you wanted to get a tattoo you're allowed to."

The fact her friend thought she was lying to him stung, but Lizzy had grown used to hiding her emotions. She smiled sarcastically at him, taking her wrist back and covering the tattoo with her sleeve, "right," she answered with a mock-nervous chuckle, "just... just don't tell mum or Clary, yeah? I've been trying to figure out how to do it and I don't want them hearing it from someone else."

An awkward silence descended upon the two friends who drank their coffee's before ordering another. It was only when their cups were placed in front of them that Lizzy sighed. "Should she be taking this long?" she asked Simon, "how long do these interviews usually go for?"

Lizzy had decided to take a year off before she even thought about applying for college, and she had yet to tell anyone, save Luke, that she was actually planning on joining the police force. She knew her mum and sister would flip if she told them, no doubt thinking it too dangerous for her to handle. Luke, on the other hand, had smiled softly when she had told him what she wanted to do whilst she was visiting him at work. He had even offered to help her prepare for the tests she would need to complete. Lizzy had already lodged her application and was just waiting for her results before she broke the news to her mum and sister.

"She should have been here by now," Simon replied, his knee bouncing incessantly.

When the sound became too much, Lizzy placed her hand on his thigh. Their eyes met as Simon flushed. "Stop," Lizzy demanded sternly, "it's getting on my nerves and it's not like it helps anyway."

"Right," Simon nodded, "yeah, sorry. I'm just nervous for her."

"She'll do fine," Lizzy told him softly, "she's a natural and they'd be stupid not to accept her."

Simon chuckled, "what? You didn't flirt with any of them so they'd allow her in?"

"If I believed it would work, I'd have been there by Clary's side, flirting my ass off," Lizzy retorted, dead serious, "besides, it's not like Clary needed my help anyway."

"Or maybe she did," Simon muttered, having spotted Clary enter the café, a downtrodden expression on her face. "Give me the professors names and I will end them."

Lizzy snorted into her coffee, watching her friend interact with her sister. She had always found Simon's over-protectiveness of her sister to be adorable. Lizzy just wished Clary would open her eyes and see what was right in front of her. Hell, sometimes she wished she could find a guy that looks at her the way Simon looks at Clary; or how Lizzy looked at Pizza.

Honestly, the looks were basically identical anyway.

"Don't bother," she heard Clary say as she placed a letter on the table.

Simon picked it up and read the _**congratulations**_ on the top as Lizzy stood from her chair and wrapped Clary in a tight hug. "I'm so proud of you," she told her younger sister, "it's also a good thing you chose to become an artist because you're not a very good actress. You give everything away with your eyes, Little Red."

Clary rolled her eyes at the childhood nickname before she grinned at her older sister.

"I'm going to order another coffee," Lizzy informed her sister before she picked up her empty cup and made her way to the counter. She didn't want to sit at the table whilst Simon made moon eyes at Clary who _somehow_ remained oblivious to the poor teenager.

As she was waiting for her coffee, to go this time, Lizzy's phone alerted her to a notification. She quickly unlocked it and sighed when she saw the tweet Simon had posted about Clary getting into the art program of her dreams. Before she locked her phone, Lizzy shrugged and re-tweeted the post. She had barely put the phone in her pocket when she saw the tip of the strange tattoo she apparently had.

Making sure Clary and Simon were still occupied, Lizzy lifted the sleeve of her jacket and studied the strange symbol that had suddenly appeared on her skin. It looked like it had always been there, but Lizzy knew that was impossible. She traced the symbol with a frown, something tugging at her mind; like she had seen the symbol somewhere before.

"Lizzy Fray."

Her head snapped up and she quickly covered the tattoo when her name was called. Lizzy smiled at the barista as she grabbed her coffee cup. She took one more look at Simon and Clary, catching her sister's eye and waving goodbye before she left the café.

She made it two blocks before her phone started ringing. Lizzy dug it out of her pocket, not bothering to glance at the caller ID before she placed it to her ear. "Hello?" she questioned.

"Elizabeth Fray?"

Lizzy's eyebrows furrowed, "yeah, who is this?" Her eyes widened as the woman went on to give her, her name and informed her she had been accepted to train for the NYPD. Lizzy barely managed to keep herself from squealing as she thanked the woman.

She hung up the phone, looked around, and promptly began jumping up and down as she squealed happily. Thankfully, she was on one of the less busy streets and only got a few strange looks before people hurried passed her. Lizzy couldn't wait to tell Luke and hurriedly unlocked her phone. Too busy trying to find her surrogate father's number, Lizzy didn't notice the gorgeous brunette that was walking down the street, admiring something in a shopping bag.

Both girls knocked into each other, causing Lizzy's phone and the brunette's bag to fall to the ground. "Shit," Lizzy hissed as she quickly kneeled to pick up her phone and her poor victims' bag. "I'm so sorry," she told the girl, who looked startled that Lizzy was even looking at her, let alone talking to her.

"You can see me?" she questioned, slowly taking the offered bag from Lizzy's outstretched hand.

Lizzy smiled softly, "yeah," she answered, "I know it didn't seem like it a moment ago, and I'm _really_ sorry, I was just trying to call my dad."

The woman didn't say anything, just looked at Lizzy strangely for a moment. Lizzy shuffled uneasily before she smiled nervously, "anyway, I should go," she told the still silent woman. "Sorry again," she repeated, "uh, have a nice day."

Lizzy hurried passed her, her head bowed, missing the curious look the woman sent her before she shrugged and continued on.

When Lizzy finally found Luke's number, she eagerly dialed it and waited impatiently for him to answer.

"Well, if it isn't the future Detective Fray," Luke's voice rang out, earning a groan from Lizzy.

"How'd you know?" she asked.

"I may have peaked at your application's progress."

Lizzy snorted, "so you were snooping?"

"I was totally snooping," he answered immediately, earning a chuckle from the teenager. "I'm proud of you, Lizzy," he told her softly, "you're going to be an amazing detective."

Her smile was small and sweet, "thanks, Luke, I wouldn't have been able to do it without your help."

"Sure, you would have," he told her, "but I'm happy you came to me for help." There was a moment of silence before Luke spoke again, "you know you can come to me for anything, Lizzy, right?"

"Of course," she replied without hesitation, "are... are you okay, Luke?"

She heard him sigh heavily, "I'm fine, I'm about to go get Clary's present, do you want to come?"

Lizzy frowned at his change of subject but agreed anyway, telling Luke where she was so he could come and pick her up. As she waited, her eyes kept glancing back to the tattoo hidden by her sleeve.

It was only when Luke's car finally came into view that Lizzy realised, she had seen a very similar mark on the brunette she had run into earlier.


	4. The Mortal Cup Part II

Luke and Lizzy arrived at the apartment a little later than Lizzy would have preferred. She still needed to get dressed and now that would have to be more rushed than she would prefer if she were to be ready before they were to leave. Lizzy gave Luke and her mum a kiss on the cheek before she ran past her sister and into her room.

She had already laid out most of what she was planning on wearing tonight and made quick work of throwing it on. When she was done, she curled her hair and applied her make up. A quick wink at the mirror and Lizzy was running from the room and back into the kitchen, breathing heavily as she leaned against the kitchen counter.

"How can you run in those?" Clary questioned, looking down at the heels her sister was wearing whilst Jocelyn shook her head at her eldest daughter's style of clothes. She had already tried to get Lizzy to wear more appropriate clothes but the almost-nineteen-year-old seemed determined to ignore her.

Lizzy shrugged, "beauty is pain and these shoes are to die for."

Simon was already standing in the living room and Lizzy strutted over to him, throwing her arm around him as she leaned the front of her body against his. "What do you think, Si?" she purred, grinning as his cheeks flushed and he began to stutter, "I'll take that to mean I look amazing," she laughed as she kissed his cheek and walked back to the kitchen counter.

Lizzy pulled out a large box and handed it to Clary, a soft smile on her face as she looked at her younger sister. "Happy Birthday, Clare-bear," she said.

"Lizzy," Clary groaned, a smile on her face even as she tried to tell Lizzy she shouldn't have.

"Just shut up and open it would you," Lizzy snapped playfully, rolling her eyes as everyone chuckled.

Clary gasped as she saw the contents of the box, her eyes wide as she gingerly reached in to pull out a leather-bound sketchbook and some _very_ expensive art supplies. Everyone else was gaping at the items as Lizzy smiled proudly.

"How did you even afford this?" Clary breathed, "you didn't rob an art store, did you?"

Lizzy barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "of course not. I've been saving since you turned sixteen and decided you were going to try and get into the art program."

"So, you just knew I'd get in?" Clary questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"We Fray's know how to get what we want," she grinned in reply, missing the uncomfortable looks everyone threw each other.

"Lizzy..."

"Elizabeth..."

"Liz..."

Luke coughed and looked pointedly at everyone as Lizzy furrowed her eyebrows. She looked to Luke for answers but he just smiled at her and reached into his jacket pocket before pulling out a thin black box and handing it to her.

"Why'd you get me a present?" she questioned, "it's not my birthday. Not that I'm complaining," she continued, "please, feel free to shower me with presents whenever you like."

He chuckled, "just open it, Liz."

She did as she was asked, removing the lid only to pause as she spied the object sitting within the box.

"Hey, mum gave me one of those earlier," Clary spoke up, "a stele, right?"

"What's a stele?" Lizzy asked, "is it like a wand? Are you finally coming clean about me being a wizard?" She gasped excitedly, "can I apparate to Paris?"

"Why Paris?" Simon asked, wondering how someone who dressed and acted like Lizzy could be a closet nerd.

"Some of the best boutiques in the world, duh," she answered, not looking up from the stele. "These look really familiar," she continued, tracing the symbols on the stele, "I swear I've seen these before."

"I drew some like that this morning, maybe you just saw those," Clary spoke up again.

Lizzy shook her head, "no, it's like I know what these are, but for the life of me I can't seem to recall them."

"Lizzy; you, me, and Clary need to have a very important talk," her mum began.

"If it's the safe sex talk, you're just a _bit_ too late mum," Lizzy replied, " _believe me_ , I know exactly what to do to prevent..."

"That's not the kind of talk we need to have," her mum interrupted, ignoring Clary's giggles and Luke and Simon's spluttering.

"Come on, mum," Clary groaned, "I thought we were going to wait until morning."

"Yeah, mum, we're going to be late to Simon's gig," Lizzy inserted.

Her mum sighed and Lizzy felt a little guilty for causing the older woman stress, "fine," she agreed, "but no excuses; breakfast, you, me, and Clary. Understood?"

"Of course," Lizzy smiled, placing the stele in her pocket before she stepped into her mum's open arms.

"I love you, so much," her mum whispered into her ear.

"I love you too," Lizzy replied, confusion lacing her reply as she felt her mum squeeze her a bit tighter.

She stepped out of her mum's arms and walked to Luke, "see you later, yeah?" she smiled at him.

"You couldn't get rid of me if you tried," Luke replied as he wrapped her in a tight hug, kissing her forehead before she buried her face in his chest. "Go on, before they take off without you," he continued, his voice catching slightly as he let her step out of his arms.

Lizzy waved at them, grinning widely before she rushed out of the apartment after Simon and Clary.

When she was gone, Luke sat down heavily on the sofa. "She's going to hate us when she finds out," he spoke up, his face buried in his hands.

"We haven't got a choice," Jocelyn replied as she came to sit beside him, "Magnus said the protections would start wearing off any day now."

"I don't want to lose her, Jocelyn. I love her."

"Me too, Luke," she replied, entwining their hands as she looked at him sorrowfully, "she's my daughter, in all but blood, and I don't know how I'm going to tell her everything I need to tell her."

Luke's eyes gravitated to a picture on the coffee table, a picture of him and Lizzy pulling a ridiculous face as they faced each other. "How do you tell someone that?" he questioned sadly, "how do you tell someone so caring and full of life that they're an abomination?"

* * *

"So," Simon began, "do you remember in Aliens, when the alien queen was defending her eggs from Ripley?"

"Aliens? Really? You're referencing Aliens of all movies?" Lizzy questioned from where she sat on the other side of Clary, playing Tetras on her phone, as she waited for them to go to Simon's gig.

"What's wrong with Aliens?" Simon exclaimed; his eyes narrowed.

Lizzy looked up and grinned at him, her dark red lips stretching to reveal almost blindingly white teeth, "don't get me started, Si."

"In this scenario, is my mum Ripley or the alien queen?" Clary interrupted.

"Both," Simon and Lizzy replied simultaneously. "And I say that with the utmost love," Lizzy continued when Clary sent her a raised eyebrow.

"What?" Maureen questioned, finally peeling her eyes away from Simon.

"A mother defending her young."

Clary scoffed, "defending us from what? I spend all day in an art studio and Lizzy rarely leaves the apartment unless it's to go shopping or see Marcel. Our lives couldn't be more mundane."

It was Lizzy's turn to scoff as she looked up, "me? Mundane?" she replied incredulously, "sweetie, there ain't nothing mundane about me."

Clary rolled her eyes and lightly bumped her shoulder with her sisters, "besides, we really don't know much about when she was young."

"Oh," Maureen exclaimed, making Lizzy jump. The older girl scrambled for her phone, barely catching it before it could fall from her hands and drop to the ground. She glared at Maureen who smiled sheepishly, mouthing 'sorry' as Lizzy shook her head, "just do what I do and get all the dirt from your relatives."

Lizzy zoned out as her eyes zeroed in on an attractive guy checking her out. "As much as I love this conversation," she spoke up, "and, really, I do so _love_ talking about our non-existent family. I'm going to talk to tall, cute, and totally checking me out."

Clary's eyes followed her sister's gaze and watched as the guy she was talking about winked flirtatiously at her. "He seems like a tool, Liz," she told her sister, her nose scrunching up at the man's nerve to wink at her and openly flirt with her sister too.

"Well, it's not like I'm going to marry him, Clare-bear," Lizzy replied with a roll of her eyes as she jumped off the top of the van, "but birthday sex is always welcome."

"But it's Clary's birthday," Simon replied, "not yours."

"I never said it was mine, Si," she answered, "I said birthday sex is always welcome; just because it's not _my_ birthday doesn't mean I can't utilize the occasion anyway."

With that said, Lizzy strutted away from the small group, her hips swaying and her curls bouncing.

"How does she even walk in those heels?" Maureen asked as she watched Lizzy walk away.

"She won't tell me," Clary shrugged, "but I totally wish I could."

"Me too."

"Me three," Simon piped up, causing the two girls to chuckle.

* * *

"Thanks for being our roadies," Maureen said to the two Fray sisters after the gig. They were parked, not too far from a club Lizzy hadn't heard of before. "Uh, you've got a little," Maureen told Lizzy, motioning to her lips where her red lipstick was slightly smudged.

Lizzy grinned devilishly as she pulled out her compact mirror and fixed her makeup. Danny had been _very_ enthusiastic; it was only when Lizzy learnt just how young he actually was that she immediately called quits to their snogging session. She certainly wasn't going to sleep with a fifteen-year-old, no matter how cute he was.

"Yeah, and thank you for being our artist in residence," Simon told Clary.

"Of course," Clary replied, smiling softly at her best friend.

Simon removed his shirt and Lizzy watched as Clary and Maureen admired his abs. "You're totally crushing on your best friend," she whispered into Clary's ear, making the younger girl jump.

"I... I... Shut up, Lizzy!"

Lizzy laughed before she whistled lowly, "geez, Si, if I knew you were hiding that body under those clothes, I would have jumped you ages ago."

Simon flushed a brilliant shade of red as he quickly threw on another shirt. He may not see Lizzy as any more than a friend but that didn't mean he was blind to the fact a very beautiful girl was flirting unashamedly with him. Lizzy seemed to do it because she loved his reactions, he knew she didn't see him like that and he noticed how the way she flirted with him differed to the guys she actually went after.

"Lizzy!" Clary hissed, smacking Lizzy in the stomach with the back of her hand.

"Oi!" Lizzy hissed back, elbowing Clary in the ribs and smiling innocently when the red-head let out a _whoosh_ of air. "Serves you right," she said when Clary glared at her.

"Whatever," Clary huffed, "anyway, you went on stage tonight as Champagne Enema."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Lizzy groaned, "I'm never going to look at Champagne the same again."

Clary, Simon, and Maureen chuckled. "Well, good thing for you we're now Rock Solid Panda," Simon told the older girl.

"Do you guys just throw a bunch of words in a hat and pick them out randomly to come up with your band name?" Lizzy questioned, "and pandas aren't rock solid," she continued, "have you not seen Kung Fu Panda?"

"Do you have a Disney reference for everything?" Maureen questioned Lizzy; her eyebrow raised as she watched Clary graffiti the van.

Lizzy shrugged, "that's a question with an impossible answer. But it's probably yes. And, for the record, Kung Fu Panda is DreamWorks _not_ Disney."

"Lizzy Fray?"

All of the teens turned to see a teenager dressed in a work uniform holding a pizza box. "Uh, one pizza with everything?" he questioned awkwardly, his eyes darting between Clary, Maureen, and Lizzy.

"That's me!" Lizzy bounced, a large smile on her face as she rushed over to the teenager. She gave him the money for the pizza plus a generous tip before turning back to see the others gaping at her. "What?" she asked as she walked back over to the van and placed the pizza down. She opened the box and sighed happily when the smell of the pizza reached her nose.

"How'd you manage to get them to deliver a pizza to a van outside of a club?" Simon asked, moving to take a slice only to jump back with a startled yell when Lizzy slapped his hand.

She glared fiercely at the teenager, "don't touch my pizza," she growled, "and I just did, why must everyone question my incredible life skills?" Lizzy shoved the slice of pizza in her mouth, ripped a piece off and chewed it quickly. When she had swallowed it, she pointed a finger at Simon, "don't touch," she reminded him before she walked around the van to check on Clary's progress.

Simon joined them, muttering about pizza hogs under his breath as he looked up at the side of the van. "What's that tag?" he asked Clary, seeing the large image in the middle of the van.

"Weird," Clary muttered, "I didn't mean to draw that. Second time today." She turned her head to see Lizzy happily chowing down on a slice of pizza.

Noticing eyes on her, Lizzy looked at Clary, pausing mid-mouthful. "What?" she asked around her slice of pizza. She swallowed the piece she had been eating and looked from the image to Clary, "I haven't drawn it if that's what you're asking. I can't even draw a stick figure properly, remember?"

Clary giggled as she thought about the wonky stick figure Lizzy had tried to draw when she was adamant she could draw just as well as Clary. Lizzy didn't know it, but Luke had kept the drawing, keeping it stored in his wallet where he could pull it out and look at it whenever the desire struck. She didn't tell her older sister that she was jealous of what Lizzy and Luke had; their bond stronger than anything Clary could have hoped to have had with the older man.

"You know, they have confirmed cases of people waking up in the morning speaking French, and they never even studied the language," Maureen told the two girls.

"Do you think that's some kind of language?" Clary questioned, turning to walk behind the van with Maureen as Lizzy continued to study the tag.

"Sanskrit maybe," Lizzy vaguely heard Maureen say, too focused on the tag.

The sight of it made her brain itch, like whatever the tag was it was important that she remember it. Before she could think any further on it, someone bumped into her, causing Lizzy to drop her half-eaten slice of pizza. A small whine left her lips as she looked down at the now uneatable pizza, a wide-eyed look of sheer horror painted across her face before it quickly turned to anger.

"What the hell, dude?!" she exclaimed, her eyes snapping up to see the guy who had bumped her. "Do you have any idea what you just did?" she hissed.

The guy stopped, giving her a wide-eyed look of surprise that did nothing to soften the harsh glare she was sending him.

"You can see me?" he asked, stepping closer to Lizzy who rolled her eyes.

"Of course, I can see you," she huffed, "but you obviously didn't see me and my pizza just so happened to suffer the consequences!"

He continued to look at her like she had just told him she'd found the cure for cancer or something, though, Liz didn't miss the small tinge of amusement shining in his eyes. Any other moment, Lizzy would have been a puddle on the floor looking into those mismatched eyes but this beautiful stranger had just committed the ultimate sin. He had messed with her food.

"You have the Sight," he told her, like being able to see him was some kind of superpower.

"You have the sight too, buddy," she retorted, "though it apparently doesn't work too well if you couldn't see me standing there."

He shook his head, "how can I not know who you are?"

"Could be because we just met," she replied acerbically, "and honey, if that's the best pick up line you've got, I've got a few pointers."

"Jace!" someone called from behind the guy, Lizzy looking over his shoulder to see a tall guy with dark hair and similar tattoos to the guy standing in front of her.

"Jace, huh?" Lizzy questioned as the guy sent her one last look before he ran off and into the club. Lizzy shrugged and walked back to the van, scooping up another slice of pizza before promptly biting into it.

"What was that guy's problem?" Clary asked her older sister, looking from Lizzy to the club the mysterious blonde had run into.

Lizzy shrugged, "dunno, he bumped into me and then acted like it was a big surprise that I called him out about it." She took another bite of her pizza, only continuing to talk after she'd swallowed it, "and don't even get me started on that corny pickup line."

"What are you two talking about?" Simon asked.

Clary turned to see Maureen and Simon looking at them as if they were crazy. "That blonde dude that bumped into Lizzy," she replied.

"You mean the imaginary dude Lizzy was talking to?"

Lizzy scoffed, "how can he be imaginary if Clary saw him too, Si?"

"I don't know, some weird sibling mind meld, maybe?"

She snorted, "whatever you say, Yoda."

"No," Clary interjected, shaking her head, "the guy right there, running into the club."

"Clary, nobodies there," Maureen replied softly, like she was talking to a wild animal.

"The guy covered in tats, like-"

"What guy are you talking about?" Simon asked, walking over to Clary and lifting her head so their eyes met, "you feeling okay, Clary? You look a little tired."

"Wow, Si," Lizzy finally spoke up, "just what every girl wants to hear."

"You guys seriously don't see him?" Clary asked, her eyes never leaving Simon's, begging her best friend mentally to believe her.

Maureen huffed, "no," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at Simon and Clary.

"Okay, well that's enough for me," Lizzy piped up, having finished another slice of pizza during that little conversation. She unzipped her jacket and threw it in the van, "I'm going to track down Blondie and tell him he owes me a pizza."

There was nothing but silence from the teenagers behind her and when Lizzy turned to face them, they were all gaping at her. "What?" she asked.

"What the hell, Lizzy?!" Clary yelled, "you've got a tattoo?!"

Lizzy cursed at having forgotten about that little discovery as she smiled sheepishly at her younger sister, "it's just one tattoo, Clare-bear, stop freaking out so much."

"One? One?! One would have been okay, Lizzy, but you're covered in them!" Clary continued, stomping forward and yanking Lizzy's arm towards her.

Lizzy looked down, her own eyes widening as she saw the symbols that littered her arms and disappeared into her dress. They certainly hadn't been there earlier when she had gotten dressed but tattoos didn't just appear on your body either. Inwardly, Lizzy was freaking the hell out, but outwardly, she had managed to keep her sheepish smile in place.

"Uh, surprise?" she managed to choke out, dragging her eyes away from the tattoos to look into the disapproving eyes of her sister.

"I can't believe you permanently marked yourself like this," Clary hissed, "what happens when you try to get a job, huh?"

Lizzy snatched her arm back, narrowing her eyes at Clary, "oh, I don't know, _mum,_ it's not like there's makeup or anything that could cover them." Clary opened her mouth to speak but Lizzy just shook her head, "I'm going to find Blondie."

She walked away from her sister and friends, making her way to the club where she flashed the bouncer a flirty smile and continued to walk in as if she owned the place.

She wasn't in the club long before Clary, Simon, and Maureen joined her. "I'm going to fail at getting us some birthday drinks," Simon yelled over the music that filled the club.

Lizzy ignored them as she made her way through the club, ignoring the bodies that jostled her as she kept her eyes on the head of blonde hair that was easily recognisable as Jace's. She saw him duck behind a curtain and quickly latched on to the arm of a guy about to walk through the curtain. She gives him a disarmingly bright smile, not bothering to say anything as he led her through the curtain and into a smaller room.

Her eyes scanned the area, taking note of the gorgeous brunette dancing on a table. Something told her the woman was familiar but Lizzy couldn't recall why when all she saw was the woman's back. Though, it was a _very_ nice back. The brunette was surrounded by a bunch of guys, all of them staring at her like she was the Golden Goose.

"Watch out!"

Clary's sudden exclamation made Lizzy jump; unaware her sister had actually followed her this far. She turned in time to see Clary pushing a woman away from Blondie. Said woman fell onto the couch before she turned her head, her mouth splitting open as she half hissed, half roared at Blondie and Clary.

"Careful!" Blondie exclaimed, pushing Clary away, making her fall on her ass and slide across the floor.

"Clary!" Lizzy exclaimed, rushing to her sister's side as Blondie slices the blade across the woman's body before she burns into nothingness.

A man tries to attack him but he is held back by the gorgeous brunette who just so happened to be holding the man back with a _whip_.

"Are you hurt?" Blondie turns and asks her sister, his eyes meeting hers and widening a fraction before another man attacks him, his sword falling to the ground in front of Lizzy and Clary.

Lizzy vaguely notes that the sword no longer glows now that it's not in Blondie's hands. Hesitantly, she reaches for the sword, her eyes widening when it glows brightly as her fingers wrap around the hilt. Clary's eyes meet hers and Lizzy manages a cheeky smile, "always wanted to be a Jedi," she jokes, trying to ease her sister as she stands up.

She notices Blondie struggling with the men he's fighting and steps forward, bringing the sword forward and into the chest of one of the men. He disintegrates before her, just like the woman, and Lizzy barely has time to feel shocked before she is twirling the sword and plunging it into the back of another man. It was like muscle memory, like her body had handled a blade very similar to the one she was handling now. Even as her horrified mind register the fact that she had just _killed_ two people, her body seemed to work on its own as the sword found itself buried in another man.

Finally, Lizzy was able to drop the sword, backing away from the object as if it had burned her, her eyes wide and terrified as she rushed to a still shell-shocked Clary.

"We've gotta go," she breathed to her younger sister.

"Y-you just killed those guys," Clary stuttered.

Lizzy felt cold dread settling over her as she hoisted Clary off the ground, gripped her wrist, and rushed from the room without a backwards glance at Blondie and his friends.

Her mind was spinning as she tried to get her and Clary out of the club as quickly as possible. She barely felt her shoulder bump someone else's. Didn't register as her sister apologised to said person. Nor did she hear Simon or Maureen calling for them.

Lizzy just clung to her sister, fleeing the club and quickly hailing a taxi.

"Drive," she heard Clary breath to the taxi driver before her arms were wrapping around Lizzy, "it's okay," she whispered, "everything's going to be okay."

Oh, how wrong she was.


	5. The Mortal Cup III

Lizzy hadn’t spoken a word since they got home. Clary had had to escort her older sister into the apartment, tightly clinging to her sister who looked like she was going to pass out at any moment. She had never seen Lizzy so pale or shaken, not that she could blame her.

“Mum?” Clary called as she entered their apartment, “mum?!”

Clary led Lizzy over to the sofa and sat her down, giving her one last worried glance before she turned to face her mum who had just run into the room.

“Mum!” Clary exclaimed, running to her mum and throwing her arms around her as she finally broke down.

Meanwhile, Lizzy was replaying the events of the club over and over in her head. She kept seeing herself impaling those guys with the glowing sword. It was like her mind had disconnected from her body, like she was a completely different person. It was utterly terrifying, feeling like you have no control over your own body.

Lizzy felt sick.

She practically flew from the sofa and rushed from the living room. Lizzy barely managed to reach the bathroom before she threw up her pizza from earlier. She felt someone pull her curls back from her face and another hand rub gentle circles into her back as she continued to dry retch.

When the nausea finally subsided, her throat and chest were sore and warm tears burned their way down her cheeks. 

“Are you okay?”

Lizzy looked up at the sound of Dot’s voice, her eyes stinging from the tears as she shook her head. Nothing about tonight was okay. She had killed three people. Sure, they didn’t exactly look like people, but she had killed them none the less.

“I’m sorry,” Dot sighed, pulling her closer so that she was cradling the younger girl, “it was a stupid question.”

She let out a broken sound that was somewhere between a sob and a laugh before she took in a deep, shaky breath. “Nothing makes sense,” she whispered hoarsely. Lizzy pulled away and looked at Dot, the woman who was like a big sister to her and Clary, “what’s happening, Dot?”

“I can’t tell you,” Dot sighed, “you, Clary, and Jocelyn need to have a serious talk, Lizzy. Hopefully everything will make sense after you do.”

Lizzy couldn’t do much more than nod as Dot’s phone rang. She gave Lizzy an apologetic look but Lizzy waved her off as she stood up and stumbled to the bathroom sink. As Dot left to answer the phone, Lizzy quickly brushed her teeth to get rid of the awful taste in her mouth.

A few more unsteady breathes later, Lizzy finally composed herself enough to leave the bathroom and find her mum and sister.

“…And then these creepy tentacles seemed to come out of the bodybuilder’s face and… and then the guy just… vaporised. I mean, we were drugged, right?” Clary looked up from where she was pacing in front of her mum, her frantic eyes meeting those of her sisters, “oh, God, Lizzy are you okay?!”

Clary ran over to her sister and the two girls hugged tightly.

“What did the markings look like on the blonde boy you were talking about?” Jocelyn asked before she noticed Lizzy’s arms and her face paled. The protections had worn off, the runes were reappearing now and it wouldn’t be long until the block on her memories came down too.

“Who cares, mom, okay?!” Clary exclaimed, rubbing Lizzy’s arms as she felt her sister shake, “are you listening to me? I think Lizzy killed those guys!”

Lizzy felt the cold dread settle in again and swallowed thickly to try and get her emotions under control.

“Girls, did they look like this?” Jocelyn questioned, taking her stele and running it over her lower arm where a rune appeared.

“Mom, what the…”

“Yeah,” Lizzy interrupted, stepping away from Clary and moving closer to her mum to inspect the marking, “mum, what are these?” she continued, holding out her own arms, her eyes pleading for her mum to give her an explanation that would help make sense out of everything that happened tonight.

“Everything you girls saw tonight has a meaning and an explanation, and I’ve dreaded having this conversation with you since the day you were born.” Jocelyn didn’t look at Lizzy when she mentioned birth, she couldn’t look her daughter in the eyes knowing what she had to tell her.

“What’s going on?” Clary interjected as Lizzy felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Her body stiffened as if preparing for a fight, though Lizzy was confused as to why it would do that. “Are… are we going insane?”

Lizzy moved to grip her stele only to freak out when she realised she’d left it in her jacket in the back of Simon’s van. She jumped when the door suddenly burst open, wondering when she had zoned out of the conversation. Dot ran into the living room, her eyes wide and panicked as she made her way over to the three women.

“Jocelyn, look out the window. Magnus called to warn us. They found you.”

“Magnus,” Lizzy whispered, too quiet for anyone but Dot to hear. Her eyes met Dot’s and saw surprise and apprehension in them as Dot looked her over.

She was broken from her thoughts by her mum rushing away from the window, “Dot, it’s time.” She turned to Clary and Lizzy, who had instinctually moved in front of her little sister at the sound of her mum’s distress, her body screaming at her to prepare for a fight. “Okay, listen to me,” she began, “you cannot be near me.”

“What’s happening?!” Clary yelled, moving around Lizzy to run to her mum.

“I got a very powerful person angry,” Jocelyn explained, her and Dot still rushing around the apartment.

“What did you do?” Clary exclaimed, desperate for answers.

“I hid something from him and his followers.”

Lizzy’s head pulsed painfully and she groaned. “Circle,” she mumbled, the word seemingly coming from nowhere and disappearing just as quickly as she rubbed her temple to try and alleviate the sharp pain.

“What did you just say?” her mum breathed, her eyes wide as she looked at Lizzy.

“What?” Lizzy questioned dizzily, “n-nothing.”

“Mom, why can’t we just call the police?” Clary interjected, watching Lizzy continue to rub her temple, her eyes closed and her forehead creased in pain. Lizzy had never suffered from headaches and Clary was worried about what might have brought them on so suddenly.

Jocelyn backed away from Lizzy, dragging her eyes away form her eldest daughter as she turned back to Clary, “the only policeman you need to call is Luke. Keep this with you and think of me when you wear it.”

Lizzy watched her mum place a necklace with a purple shard over Clary’s head. She hurried over to Lizzy and thrust a small box into her hands. It was a small, locked box with the letters **M.E.S.** on the front of it. “I love you, Elizabeth, no matter what happens next, please remember that,” her mum begged. Lizzy nodded, her eyes stinging as fresh tears began to swim in them.

“Only if you need it,” Dot said, throwing a glowing green bottle to Jocelyn, who caught it effortlessly.

She grabbed both of the teenagers, cradling their faces softly, “trust your instincts. You’re more powerful then you know.” Her eyes moved to Lizzy, “both of you.”

“Mum, I need to understand what’s-”

Clary was interrupted as their mum turned to Dot, “open it.”

“Mum,” Lizzy finally spoke, fear gripping her heart as she clung to her mother’s hand, “what’s going on? Please, just tell us what’s going on!” Lizzy noticed blue smoke in Dot’s hand before she pointed it at two doors that turned inwards as a purple light filled the area between them. “How?” she breathed before she faced her mum again, “how did she do that?! What the hell is going on?!”

“Everything I’ve done, every mistake I’ve made was because I love you both more than words,” her mum said, ignoring Lizzy’s questions, much to the teenager’s annoyance and distress.

“Mum, what are you doing?” Clary questioned.

“I’m not leaving you!” Lizzy exclaimed.

“Yes, you are,” her mum told her sternly, “Elizabeth, I need you to be safe. _Both of you_. Find Luke, he’ll explain everything. He’ll hide you both.”

“Hide us from what?” Lizzy whispered even as her head continued to supply her with one word. _Circle_.

As if sensing where her thoughts were leading her, her mum smiled sadly, “I think you already know. Find Luke,” she repeated, “he’s the only one you can trust. Trust no one else, only Luke and each other.”

“Mum, I don’t-” Clary began only to be cut off.

“Where’s Luke now?” she demanded, her gaze returning to Clary.

“At the police station!” Clary yelled as their mum pushed them back towards the purple light.

“Remember, I love you both.”

“Mum!” Clary yelled as she felt Lizzy grab her wrist.

“Take care of each other!” Lizzy heard her mother yell before they disappeared.

* * *

Lizzy felt the cold ground beneath her legs, her tight grip still on Clary’s wrist as her mind tried to catch up to everything that had happened so far today and tonight. First, weird symbols started mysteriously appearing on her body, symbols her mum and Blondie from the club also had. Second, though she hadn’t noticed it as much earlier, mum and Luke had been acting _really_ strange. Thirdly, she had killed three guys who had then proceeded to vaporize. Fourthly, Dot was some kind of magician, not the cheap kind you hire for a kid’s birthday, but the kind that made you feel like you were on some kind of trip when you watched them.

“Clary? Liz?”

Her head snapped up, her fifth weird occurrence lost to her as she looked up to see Captain Vargas coming up the stairs. Clary was already standing by the time the woman reached them and Lizzy soon followed her little sister’s example as she quickly wiped at her eyes, thanking God that she had applied waterproof mascara tonight.

“Captain Vargas,” Clary spoke, smiling weakly at Luke’s boss.

“It’s two in the morning,” Vargas began, eyeing the girls suspiciously, “what are you doing here so late, girls?”

“Uh, um…” Clary floundered.

“Luke said he’d drive us home if he was still here,” Lizzy interjected, internally sighing with relief when the sentence came out in a steady tone. “You know how he feels about cabbies,” she grinned, affectionately rolling her eyes.

Vargas nodded, a chuckle leaving her lips, “he’s in the middle of an interview right now,” she told he two teens, “it could take a while.”

“Cool,” Clary nodded, “we’ll just wait in the cafeteria.”

Clary grabbed Lizzy’s hand, both girls turning to walk off when Vargas continued. “Hey, uh… is there some sort of problem? Guy trouble?” she asked, looking at Lizzy with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, sure. Guy trouble, it’s, uh… Lizzy…”

“…it’s fine,” Lizzy interjected, “nothing a carton of ice-cream and a crappy movie can’t fix.”

Vargas nodded, turning to leave only to stop and turn to them again, a smile on her face, “Luke told me the good news…” Lizzy saw Clary getting ready to thank someone else for her acceptance into art school but Vargas turned to Lizzy, a proud gleam in her eyes, “I can’t wait to work with you, Liz.”

Lizzy smiled, enjoying the small moment of normalcy, “thank you, _Captain._ ”

Vargas laughed, bidding the two girls goodnight before she left. Lizzy could feel Clary’s eyes on her but ignored her gaze as she made her way down the stairs and towards the offices, wanting to find Luke as soon as possible.

Clary and Lizzy were hiding on the staircase as they listened into Luke’s conversation with a man and a woman. Lizzy felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end like they had back at the apartment but tried to ignore it in favour of listening to the conversation that was happening.

“The minute we found out Jocelyn Fairchild was alive, you were easy to track,” the man told Luke.

“Fairchild?” Clary whispered, looking at Lizzy who shushed her.

“Turns out you and Jocelyn were never that far apart. The Circle has her now. It’s just a matter of time before we catch the daughters.”

Lizzy felt the sense of cold dread return at hearing that someone had her mother. The dread only increased when her mind screamed at her that the Circle was more dangerous than anything she could imagine. Her headache returned and Lizzy bit her lip hard in an attempt to starve off the pitiful groan of pain that threatened to fall from them as her head throbbed.

“You can have all three of them if you give up the Mortal Cup.”

“Lizzy? Lizzy are you okay?” Clary whispered as she saw her sister’s face pinched with pain, her hand rubbing her temple again.

“I don’t care about either of them. They mean nothing to me. Kill them all if you like.”

Clary had still been looking at Lizzy when Luke spoke and her heart broke at the look that crossed her sister’s face. Her own eyes filled with tears but Lizzy looked like a part of her had just died when Luke had spoken. Lizzy had always been closest to Luke whilst Clary had been closer to their mum. Even as a young girl, Lizzy would cry and scream whenever Luke would leave the apartment, locking herself in her room until he came back. She used to stay with Luke a lot at his own apartment, spending days there before she would finally come back. She even had her own room in his apartment, something Clary had been jealous of growing up.

“My people want the cup,” Luke continued, unaware of the two girls listening in and how his words had completely shattered one of them. “Why do you think I’ve been hanging around here all these years? Now, when I find the cup, I’m gonna keep it. And you can tell Valentine and the Circle that.”

The pain in her head was merely unbearable at the mention of Valentine and Lizzy barely swallowed a gasp as she rushed from the staircase. She needed to get out of there, needed air. It was like there was a vice on her lungs, like someone was depriving her of oxygen and at any moment she might pass out.

_They mean nothing to me._ Luke’s words screamed at her over and over again as a sob escaped her lips. Her vision was blurry, a combination of tears and the anxiety attack she was desperately trying to fight off.

She didn’t even realise she was still holding the box her mum had given to her until she threw it at a wall. A scream tearing from her lips as she tried to express all the hurt, confusion, and anger that was simmering just under her skin. The box didn’t break, it just fell innocently to the ground, earning a glare from Lizzy. She moved to pick it up, lifting it over her head as she went to throw it again only to be stopped by a hand grabbing her arm.

Lizzy’s eyes met Clary’s, her little sister giving her a look of sadness and pity. “W-we need to find mum,” she cried, lowering Lizzy’s arm but not letting it go. The two sisters looked at each other before Lizzy nodded, allowing Clary to lead her away from the police station.

Away from the man who had always been a father to her.

Away from the last man she had ever expected to break her heart.

* * *

Clary had long since let go of Lizzy’s hand, the girls running side by side. Lizzy ignored the biting cold as their home came into view. She didn’t stop when Clary did, the red-haired girl noticing the blood on the street. She didn’t even stop at the sight of her mum’s destroyed shop or when Clary fell to the ground with a scream. 

Lizzy ran straight for the stairs, taking them two at a time before bursting into their apartment. “Mum?!” she yelled, not missing the state their apartment was in. “Mum?!” she screamed again, moving further the apartment, vaguely hearing Clary enter the apartment behind her.

“Dot.”

Lizzy turned at the sound of Clary’s relieved sigh. She turned to see Dot standing in the middle of the apartment, her back to them. The same feeling from earlier returned, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. Lizzy grabbed one of the knives off the kitchen bench, placing it out of sight as she moved to stand next to Clary.

“They took Jocelyn,” Dot said, but it didn’t sound like Dot. She sounded fake, like she was trying to force the panicked tone in her voice.

Clary apparently didn’t hear it as she took a step towards Dot, only to be stopped when Lizzy grabbed her wrist and stepped in front of her, the knife still hidden.

“Who took her?” Clary asked, giving Lizzy a strange look.

“Rogue Shadowhunters searching for the Mortal Cup.”

Lizzy’s eyes narrowed, “what the hell is the Mortal Cup?” she asked, having heard about it twice in one night.

“Think, girls,” Dot continued, having turned to face them. Lizzy thought she saw a flash of blue in her eyes but shook it off when she recalled what Dot had done earlier. Maybe it was just a magician thing? She didn’t know and right now she didn’t care. She wanted answers. “Did your mother ever talk to you about a cup? A very important cup. It’s gold, almost like a chalice.”

“Did you try Bellatrix’s vault?” Lizzy questioned, earning a look of confusion from Dot before Clary was speaking.

“No! No, we don’t know anything about a cup, Dot. One of the antiquities downstairs?”

Dot shook her head, “no, no, not those. Think, girls. This could save Jocelyn.”

“How is Hufflepuff’s cup supposed to help as save our mum?” Lizzy hissed, her eyes narrowed at Dot as the older woman took another step forward and Lizzy shuffled herself and Clary back, her grip on the knife tightening. She didn’t believe for a moment that the person standing in front of them was Dot, she knew Dot like she knew herself and like she knew Clary and her mum.

Dot’s eyes narrowed and Lizzy’s body stiffened. “You know more than you think you do, Lizzy Fray,” Dot hissed as she jumped forward, her face splitting just like those people at the club.

Lizzy pushed a screaming Clary away as she revealed the knife, stabbing fake Dot in the stomach. Fear and adrenaline pumped through her body as she watched fake Dot fall to the ground before her body started to change.

“Lizzy, look out!” Clary screamed as fake Dot jumped from the ground and came after her.

“No shit!” Lizzy replied as she avoided fake Dot’s strikes, still clasping the now bloody knife. Lizzy kicked fake Dot in the stomach, watching as it stumbled back before she tried to make a run for her sister.

“Lizzy!” Clary screamed moments before a hand grabbed Lizzy’s shoulder and threw her backwards. She groaned as her back connected with the wall. Fake Dot seemed to have completely forgotten her as she made for Clary who was backing into a corner, her eyes wide and her hands shaking.

Lizzy stumbled to her feet, black spots dancing in her vision as she took hold of the knife that had fallen from her grip. Just like at the club, it was like instinct took over. Lizzy threw the knife, watching from the back of her mind as it impaled itself in fake Dot’s shoulder.

“Clary, run!” she screamed, seeing her sister close to the apartment door.

“But…”

“Run!” Lizzy ordered, her eyes not leaving fake Dot as it pulled the knife out of its shoulder and turned to her with a deafening roar. Internally, Lizzy was screaming, completely terrified of what she was seeing. Some part of her, the protective older sister part, was relieved when she spied Clary disappear through the door. Another part, the part that was Elizabeth Fray, was screaming for her legs to run after her sister, to get far away from fake Dot. But it was another part of her, a part she didn’t know of, that kept her planted where she was, standing off against fake Dot.

Fake Dot ran at her and Lizzy’s internal struggle was enough for it to get her with its claws. Lizzy screamed as the claws cut through her dress and stomach before fake Dot was right in her face. She screamed again when she felt something sharp pierce the skin of her neck before she thrust her head forward, her forehead connecting with fake Dot’s and making it stumble back from her.

Lizzy stumbled backwards, her back connecting with the wall as she gripped her neck and stomach. She felt warm blood and swallowed the urge to throw up as she vaguely heard Clary screaming her name. Fake Dot ran at her again and Lizzie wrapped her hands around the axe Clary had put down. She didn’t have time to swing but she did hold it in front of her, the axe acting as a barrier as fake Dot pressed its weight against the wood, teeth biting in Lizzy’s direction as she grunted, trying to use the axe to push fake Dot away from her.

“Lizzy!”

Clary’s voice registered in her mind moments before a glowing blade was thrust through fake Dot’s back. Fake Dot vaporised and Lizzy stumbled forward when the weight was no longer there.

“Woah, I got you.”

The black spots in her vision were getting worse, but Lizzy still managed to look up into mismatched eyes. It was Blondie, Clary standing behind him, her wide eyes shooting from Lizzy’s stomach to her neck.

“What, no ‘thank you’ for saving your lives?” Blondie asked.

“I had it on the ropes,” Lizzy muttered, stumbling a little when her knees threatened to give out on her.

Blondie caught her, push her back so her back rested against the wall as he inspected her neck and stomach. “Careful,” he told her, ignoring Clary’s attempts to get passed him to check on Lizzy, “that demon got a piece of you.”

“Demons?” she heard Clary breath from somewhere beside her.

Blondie nodded, his eyes moving to Clary, “yeah. What do you think that miserable, disgusting thing was?”

“I, uh… I thought it was Dot,” Clary answered.

“No, Ravener demon, shapeshifter,” Blondie answered as he began searching Lizzy’s body for something.

“At least buy me dinner first,” Lizzy managed to get out weakly.

Blondie grinned at her, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Why is the room spinning?” Lizzy questioned, her head feeling heavy.

“Demon venom.”

“Is that bad?” Clary asked.

“Not for a Shadowhunter,” Blondie answered as he removed his stele, finally seeming to find what he was looking for.

“What’s that?” Clary asked.

“A stele.”

Lizzy could _feel_ Clary rolling her eyes, “not that. _That._ ”

Lizzy wanted to see what they were talking about, but the world was getting darker and she needed to tell Blondie something.

“You…” she tried; her mind fuzzy as she fought to stay conscious just a bit longer.

“What is it?” Blondie asked, moving closer so their chests were touching and his face was inches from hers.

“You… you…” Lizzy swallowed thickly and with the last bit of strength she had, she managed one final sentence.

“You owe me a pizza.”


	6. The Mortal Cup Part IV

__

_Pain. All she could feel was pain. Not a sharp, quick pain, but an immense, lingering pain that had you begging for death just so it would end. She didn't know what started it, a vague flash of a face before everything became dark around the edges, like a burnt Polaroid picture._

_"Sh," a voice cooed as fingers ran through her sweat soaked hair, "just a little bit longer." The voice was sweet, too sweet, sweet enough that her young mind drew comfort from it but with a lingering bitterness that had her mind screaming at her to get away from its owner._

_She felt her back arch, her eight-year-old body trying to fight whatever poison was running through her veins in a vain attempt to make the pain stop._

_A whimper left her lips as the pain abruptly stopped, turning into a dull throbbing and her little body sunk into the plush mattress. She barely felt the Iratze being activated, barely felt the dip in the bed as the sickly-sweet voice returned. But she did hear the words spoken to her next, words that would follow her for the rest of her life._

_"Not long now," the voice purred, "you're becoming the perfect weapon. A_ monster _disguised as an_ angel _."_

* * *

Lizzy startled awake, the dream fading from her mind faster than she could cling to it. Her eyes darted around the room, her mind not yet caught up with her being conscious. So, it was no surprise when Lizzy rolled from the bed, a litany of curses falling from her lips when she collided with the ground after her eyes had landed on the brunette sitting in an armchair at the end of the bed. 

"Who the hell are you?" she questioned briskly, not bothering to get off the floor where both she and the blanket had fallen. Lizzy looked around the room again, her forehead creased as she tried to make sense of what was happening, "where the hell am I?" She glanced down at her body and frowned, "what the hell am I wearing?"

Finally, the fuzziness lifted from her mind and the events of before she passed out hit her like a train. "Clary!" Lizzy exclaimed, scrambling to her feet. She fought for balance, her legs wobbling like a baby giraffe taking its first steps, before she bolted over the bed.

"Hey!"

Lizzy ignored the gorgeous brunette as she ran from the room, her mind vaguely registering that it was the same brunette she had bumped into the other day. She ran past several people, all of them looking at her curiously as she called for her little sister.

"Clary!" she screamed again, turning a corner only to run into a black-clad wall. "Woah!" she exclaimed as she felt herself falling back only to have calloused hands grab her by the elbows and steady her. Lizzy fisted the black fabric of the walls shirt and looked up into very blue, very unfamiliar, eyes. She frowned, letting go of the guy's shirt and taking a step back when he let her go, managing to catch herself on the actual wall before she could fall on her arse again.

"You shouldn't be out of bed," the guy said, his arms crossed over a broad chest. Lizzy wasn't listening, however, as she took in the guy from head to toe. His dark hair was styled so it fell over a small part of his face but didn't obscure those beautiful eyes. His lips were pressed into a thin line as said beautiful eyes narrowed at her, his weight shifting from one leg to the other as he grew a little uncomfortable under her scrutiny. 

Lizzy went to open her mouth when she caught sight of Clary's distinct red hair. "Clary!" she exclaimed, pushing passed Mister Tall, dark, and brooding as she ran to her sister who had turned towards her with wide eyes upon hearing her name.

"Lizzy!" Clary cried, moving away from Blondie, who was watching Lizzy closely, as Clary rushed into her older sister's open arms.

"Oh my God!" Lizzy cried as she hugged Clary tightly to herself, "are you okay? Did fake Dot get you?" Lizzy took a step back, her hands moving over every inch of exposed skin she could find on Clary as she searched for injuries. Her eyes immediately zeroed in on the black symbol on Clary's neck and Lizzy gasped, "what the hell, Clary?! You were literally bitching to me the other day about having a tattoo and you go and get one while I'm unconscious?!"

Clary rolled her eyes, an affectionate smile turning up her lips. She'd been so worried when Lizzy had passed out at the apartment, Jace having to carry her to 'the Institute' after activating what he called an 'Iratze' rune that had been on Lizzy's stomach. "Jace gave it to me because I hurt myself trying to get away from that demon that attacked us, Lizzy," she explained.

Lizzy's eyes widened further as her eyes continued their perusal of Clary, "what?" she hissed, trying to find the injury Clary was talking about.

Seeing the confused look on her sister's face, Clary wrapped her in her arms again, drawing comfort from having her close and actually awake. "I'm fine," she assured Lizzy, "completely healed, not even a scratch. Just like you."

Lizzy's hands darted to her stomach, only now realising that it didn't hurt and she couldn't feel any wounds. She made a mental note to actually check later, when she wasn't at risk of showing her underwear off to a bunch of people she didn't know. "Wait," she began, recalling Clary's earlier words, "who's Jace?"

"That'd be me," a voice spoke up behind Clary and both girls turned to see Blondie approaching them, his eyes on Lizzy as he looked her over. He smirked as he saw her small frame drowned in his shirt, "you look good in my clothes," he stated, his arms crossed over his chest.

Lizzy mimicked him, her own arms coming up to cross over her chest as she narrowed her eyes at him, "know what looks better on me?" she questioned sarcastically, her eyebrow raised.

"Nothing?"

"My own clothes," Lizzy answered the same time Blondie did, her eyes narrowing further at him for his answer. Suddenly she smirked, "I guess you'll never know," she replied to his answer, "you're just gonna have to use your imagination."

"No need," he replied just as cockily, "who do you think changed you?"

Lizzy's smirk fell and her eyes narrowed again as she took a step towards him, her fist balled, "why you little shi..."

"He's joking, Lizzy," Clary quickly interjected, stepping between Jace and her sister as she tried to diffuse the tension. "Isabelle and I changed you out of your clothes," she continued, "all Jace did was lend you a shirt."

"Who's Isabelle?"

"That'd be me," a cheery voice piped up from behind Lizzy.

Said teenager turned to see the stunning brunette who had been in the room she had woken up in. She was wearing a pair of black, tight-fitting pants and an equally dark shirt that showed more skin than it seemed to cover. Lizzy's eyes drifted to the girl's shoes and almost fainted at how perfect they were. She shook her head and returned her eyes to Isabelle who was now standing right in front of her.

"Don't mind, Jace," she began, her accented voice tinged with amusement, "I'm Isabelle," she reiterated, "this is my brother, Alec," she continued, gesturing to Tall, Dark, and still Brooding who stood behind his sister, his eyes still narrowed and his arms still crossed.

"I stand by what I said two days ago," Alec began, "these mundanes shouldn't be here."

"And like I said two days ago," Blondie sighed, obviously over this argument, "they're not mundanes. Her especially," Jace motioned towards Lizzy who frowned.

Then his earlier words registered and she rounded on Clary. "Two days?!" she exclaimed, "I've been unconscious for two days?! W-what about mum?!" Lizzy felt the panic settle in again and this time she couldn't fight off the attack.

"C-can't breathe," she gasped, wheezing as she desperately tried to get air into her lungs.

"Lizzy!" Clary cried, rushing forward. When Lizzy was younger, her panic attacks had been something that occurred regularly. They were set off by the most random things and only Luke had been able to get her to calm down. But Luke wasn't there, and he never would be.

"What's wrong?" Blondie questioned, sounding genuinely concerned for Lizzy, "what's happening?"

Clary tried to wrap Lizzy in a hug but her sister pushed her off her, her wheezing increasing and tears flooding her eyes. The embarrassment Lizzy felt at having a break down in front of these strangers only added fuel to the inferno that was her anxiety and her chest constricted painfully.

"She's having a panic attack," Clary explained, feeling useless as she watched Lizzy slide down the length of the wall, putting her head between her legs as she tried desperately to control her breathing like Luke had taught her.

Thinking of Luke just made her chest constrict tighter, his earlier words at the police station taunting her as a fresh wave of tears fell from her eyes. Everything was falling apart and Lizzy couldn't handle it, it was all too much, too fast. She hadn't had time to process everything that had happened and now she was freaking out in front of a bunch of people she didn't actually know.

"I-I-I..." Lizzy tried to get out, not knowing exactly what she wanted to say and not able to say it anyway.

Suddenly, hands were on her shoulders and Lizzy looked up, expecting to see Clary's concerned eyes. She was surprised, however, when it was Isabelle's dark eyes that she met with her own. Isabelle squeezed her shoulders tightly, not tight enough to be painful but enough that a part of Lizzy's mind forced itself to focus on it. "You're safe, Lizzy," Isabelle told her, their eyes not once leaving each other’s, "say it," she commanded gently but firmly.

"I-I'm sa-afe," Lizzy repeated, tears swimming in her eyes, making Isabelle's face blurry.

"Everything is going to be okay."

"E-e-everything's go-oing to b-be ok-ay," she managed, her breathing steadily getting deeper.

"Again," Isabelle demanded softly.

"I-I'm safe," Lizzy managed.

"And..."

"...e-everything's going to b-be okay."

Isabelle sat with Lizzy for what felt like hours, though was barely five minutes, having Lizzy repeat the mantra to her before getting Lizzy to match her breathing. Finally, Lizzy could breathe again and she rested the back of her head against the cold wall behind her, her tears having stopped falling and their remnants drying on her splotchy face. "I'm okay," she finally managed to get out. Her eyes moved to meet Isabelle's and she sent the woman a small, embarrassed smile, "thank you."

"Anytime," Isabelle replied as she stood up, offering her hand to Lizzy who hesitantly took it and allowed Isabelle to pull her from the floor. Clary, Blondie, and Alec were nowhere to be seen and when Lizzy sent Isabelle a questioning glance the brunette smiled, "I asked them to give us a moment. Being crowded wouldn't have helped you calm down."

Lizzy nodded, "how...?"

"How did I know what to do?" Isabelle asked as she led Lizzy down a corridor. Lizzy nodded and Isabelle smiled softly, "Alec used to get them. He didn't want to tell our parents so I found ways to help him through them."

"You guys are close," Lizzy stated, smiling softly as she thought about Clary.

"Family means everything to a Lightwood."

"We Fray's are like that too," Lizzy nodded, "where are we going?"

Isabelle smiled as she pushed open a door and walked into a large bedroom, "to get you a change of clothes." She turned to smirk at Lizzy who had seated herself on the bed, "unless you'd like to continue wearing Jace's shirt?" Lizzy shook her head and Isabelle grinned, "I didn't think so. Though, I've never seen Jace so curious about anyone before... or distracted. Both you and your sister saw just how dangerous distractions can be in our line of work."

"What line of work is that exactly?" Lizzy questioned as she fiddled with the hem of the oversized shirt she was wearing, waiting for Isabelle to give her something to wear.

Isabelle stopped looking through her wardrobe and looked at Lizzy curiously, "so it's true? You really don't know?"

"Know what?" Lizzy asked, slightly annoyed that Isabelle still hadn't answered her question, "look, all I know is some madmen took my mother, something parading as a woman I've always looked up to as an older sister tried to kill me and my little sister, and then I wake up after being unconscious for two days in some... where exactly are we anyway?" she questioned, looking at the fancy stained-glass window and the extravagant bedroom, "this isn't one of those BDSM clubs is it?"

Isabelle grinned widely, "I like you," she said, pointing at Lizzy.

"Oh, thank God, it's been my life goal to get the stamp of approval from you," Lizzy snarked playfully, earning a chuckle from Isabelle before said brunette threw Lizzy some clothes.

"Shower's through there," she told the teenager, pointing to the ensuite. "You'll find clean towels and feel free to use my products," she smiled, "I'll be back to take you to the others."

Isabelle was almost out the door when Lizzy called her name. Lizzy shuffled nervously as she stood next to the bed, still fiddling with Blondie's shirt, her eyes downcast. "Thank you, again," she mumbled, slowly lifting her head to look at Isabelle, "and thank you for helping me and my sister."

"I can't take all the credit," Isabelle smiled, "you need to thank Jace too."

Lizzy groaned, "do I have to?" she questioned, "it'll only inflate his ego."

Isabelle laughed, "I definitely like you, Elizabeth Fray. Have a shower and get dressed, we'll talk more when you're done." Then she was gone, leaving Lizzy on her own.

Lizzy stood where Isabelle had left her for a few moments longer, a lost look in her eyes as she glanced from the clothes on the bed to the bathroom. She shrugged helplessly, removing the shirt and dropping it on the bed next to the clothes as she moved to the ensuite. The light was already on and Lizzy immediately caught sight of herself in the mirror. She wasn't really surprised Isabelle had a full-length mirror in the bathroom, she was surprised at the black symbols that littered her upper body. They covered her arms and parts of her stomach and chest. Lizzy turned and saw a few on her back as well, none of the symbols making sense to her.

She made a mental note to ask Isabelle about it when she came back, moving to remove her underwear before making her way over to the large shower. Lizzy barely took the time to wait for the shower to be at a temperature that wouldn't completely scald her before she stepped under the spray of water. A throaty moan left her lips as the nearly scalding water ran down her body, relaxing her stiff muscles.

It barely registered to Lizzy that she wasn't covered in blood. She didn't question it, assuming Isabelle or Clary had cleaned her up before redressing her. For a good ten minutes, Lizzy did nothing but stand under the spray of water. When she finally moved, it was to grab the vanilla and cinnamon body wash, before she scrubbed her body clean with the loofah she had spotted on the bathroom caddy. Lizzy had barely watched the last of the body wash go down the drain when she reached for the strawberry shampoo.

By the time Lizzy got out, another twenty minutes had passed. She rung out her hair after she had turned the shower off before wrapping a fluffy black towel around her body.

Lizzy walked out of the bathroom and over to the clothes waiting for her on the bed. She was just about to remove the towel when the door flew open.

"Izzy are..." Alec began only to stop as he spied Lizzy's half-naked form. "Jesus... uh..." he turned away as he stuttered, his face going a deep shade of red.

Lizzy tried to keep the amused smile off her face but was failing horribly. "Isabelle's not here," she told Alec.

"I... uh... I can see that," Alec mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck, "c-can you get dressed?"

A chuckle left Lizzy's lips as she picked up the black lace boy legs that Izzy had laid out for her, sliding them on under the towel. The faux leather pants were next, followed by a tight, dark red tank top.

The whole time, Alec hadn't spoken or looked away from the wall, and Lizzy smiled at his actions, finding his embarrassment endearing.

"I'm decent, Alec," she told him as she found the laundry hamper in Isabelle's room and threw the wet towel and Blondie's shirt in it.

Alec turned around slowly, wearily, before letting out a breath of air when he saw that she was completely dressed. "I thought Izzy might have brought your sister here to get changed," Alec told her, his brooding face back, not that his embarrassment had worn off, "she's been wearing her clothes since you both arrived."

"I didn't hear anyone come in while I was in the shower," Lizzy shrugged.

She could have sworn she saw him roll his eyes but the action was so fast she could have easily been mistaken. Before Alec could speak, Isabelle was running back into the room. She eyed Alec and then Lizzy before she smiled, "I take it he didn't knock? Were you at least decent?" Isabelle knew her brother was gay but she couldn't pass up the opportunity to embarrass him a little.

Alec's ears turned red as Lizzy chuckled, "all the naughty bits were covered if that's what you're asking.

"So, what had you running in here like a hellhound was hot on your heels?" Lizzy questioned as she spied the boots Isabelle had laid out for her. She quickly put them on, before lacing them up. They reached her knees and had a good six inches of heel to them. Lizzy was seriously thinking about stealing Isabelle's wardrobe.

"Your sister just left the institute," Isabelle explained, blowing a strand of hair from her face.

"Wait, what?" Lizzy questioned, not waiting for Isabelle to answer as she ran from the room. Her mind vaguely remembered the layout of the areas she had seen so far, and she merely asked for directions when she got confused. It didn't take her too long to find the large doors that she quickly ran out of, only to pause as she saw Blondie fighting some guy in a suit.

The all too familiar sensation of the hairs on the back of her neck standing up returned and Lizzy's eyes quickly darted to her sister, widening when they saw Simon standing behind Clary, a confused look on his face as he looked at her little sister.

The suited man managed to get Blondie in the jaw, the younger man stumbling back as Clary made a small sound of fear and worry. The man took a step towards Clary, the red-haired girl backing into Simon as she looked pleadingly at Jace, begging him with her eyes to get up and help her

"Oi!" Lizzy shouted, running down the stairs, her heart thumping loudly in her chest, "leave my sister alone!"

The man smiled, a smile that told you he had just struck gold, a smile that momentarily made Lizzy pause in her run. "Well, well, well," the man said, turning to face Lizzy, her sister forgotten for the moment, "if it isn't little Maggie, all grown up, Valentine will definitely be pleased to see you."

Lizzy ducked under his arms as they reached for her, turning around so she was between the guy and her sister. "I don't know who the hell you think I am," she began, kicking him in the stomach and making him hunch over with a groan, "but my name isn't Maggie." She balled up her hand and punched him in the jaw, sending him stumbling back a bit before she grabbed one of his arms, twisting it behind him in a move Marcel had shown her. She was shorter than him but the position forced him to bend his knees to prevent his arm from breaking. Lizzy's lips moved to his ear as she hissed, "it's Elizabeth."

The man groaned as she put more pressure on his arm, forcing him to his knees as Blondie approached them with his glowing blade, his eyes narrowed at the man in the suit. "You have no idea who she is," he told Blondie, his voice oddly gleeful about it, "what she is. We'll never stop hunting her. We'll never stop hunting _them_ ," he spat.

Blondie sneered at the man, grabbing the back of his neck and forcing the guy to look him in the eyes. "This is for my father," he growled before he plunged the glowing blade into the guy's chest, killing him. As the man went limp, Lizzy let him go, watching as his body fell heavily to the ground, once more feeling oddly detached and yet knowing apart of what happened had been all her. She had used what Marcel had taught her, things that were supposed to be used to protect herself, to help kill a man. And yet, a part of her was telling her it was necessary, that he had to die in order for her and her sister to be safe, and Lizzy would always protect Clary. No matter what.

"Jace! Lizzy!" Clary screamed as she ran forward.

"Wait, what?" Simon asked, "where's Lizzy?"

"Right here, obviously," Lizzy retorted, looking at her friend as if he were crazy.

"I activated your glamour rune when I carried you back here," Blondie explained, "the mundane can't see you."

"Wait, what?" Lizzy asked, repeating Simon's earlier question, "I'm invisible?" Blondie nodded. "But Clary can see me," she added, confused.

Blondie nodded again, "your sister's a Shadowhunter, the glamour only works on mundanes."

"Oh, that makes perfect sense," she replied sarcastically.

"Is he dead?" Clary exclaimed before Blondie could retort.

"Is who dead?" Simon questioned. "What the..." he mumbled and Lizzy could only assume the glamour thingy wore off after death.

"Could you guys deglamourise, or whatever, so my best friend doesn't think I'm losing my mind?" Clary asked, glaring at her older sister and Jace.

"Hey!" Lizzy exclaimed, slapping Blondie's hand as he went to lift her shirt, "what did I tell you before?" she hissed, "dinner first, Blondie!"

Blondie rolled his eyes, "I need to get to the rune to deactivate it," he answered.

"Then ask," Lizzy huffed, lifting her shirt and wincing a little when Blondie ran his stele over a rune near her hip.

"Lizzy!" Simon exclaimed when the older girl appeared in front of him.

"Si!" Lizzy called back, throwing her arms around her friend, "what are you doing here?"

"You guys haven't answered your phones in two days," he explained, "find a friend tracked Clary's phone here and I figured you'd be with her." He shoved something into her arms as he took a step back and Lizzy looked down to see the leather jacket she'd left in his van.

She searched the pocket and let out a sigh of relief when she spied the stele. "We need to talk about these stalkerish tendencies," she joked as she stepped forward, "thank you, Si," she muttered, kissing her friend on the cheek, missing the glare Blondie sent her friend and the smirk Clary sent Blondie.

"C-can someone explain to me what's happening?" Simon stuttered, his cheeks flushed pink.

"Yeah, we don't have the luxury right now, kid," Blondie muttered, "everyone back inside."

"Clary, who is this?" Simon asked, stepping away from Lizzy and closer to Clary, "your meth dealer?"

Lizzy snorted, covering it up with a cough before sending Clary an innocent smile as her younger sister glared at her. She chose to ignore Simon's comment and pointed at the man on the ground, "I've seen him before. At the police station. Remember, Lizzy?"

"I was too busy getting my heart ripped out of my chest by the only father I've ever known," Lizzy retorted bitterly, "but, yeah, he looks kinda familiar."

"He's a member of the Circle," Blondie answered, taking a step closer to Lizzy, a move that didn't go unnoticed by Clary or Simon. "Clary, he's here for you and your sister," he finished.

"He's with the people who took our mother," Clary muttered. "Why did he call you Maggie?" she asked her sister, drawing the attention to Lizzy who was nervously chewing the tip of her thumb, a habit Clary hadn't seen her do since she was fifteen.

Lizzy looked up from the body to see all eyes on her, "what?" she questioned. "How the hell am I supposed to know what was going through some crazy man's head?" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

"We can figure that out later," Blondie interjected, coming to Lizzy's defence when it looked like she was gonna start freaking out again, "your little best friend here led him right to you," he looked down at Lizzy to see her biting her thumb again, "both of you. He's here to capture or kill you."

"There's a dead body there, we have to call Luke," Simon breathed.

Lizzy ignored the stab of pain at the thought of Luke before she looked up at Simon, "you do that and I'll be arrested and thrown in prison for murder, Si."

"You didn't kill him," Simon argued, turning to glare at Blondie, "he did."

"And I helped," Lizzy retorted, crossing her arms over her chest, "so I'll still be arrested and thrown in prison for being an accomplice."

"Besides," Clary spoke up, "we can't trust Luke, Simon."

"Why not?"

Blondie sighed, obviously having had enough of the conversation as he stepped closer to Lizzy, close enough that his chest brushed her back whenever he inhaled. "I need to keep you both safe," he spoke up, "I promise you, both of you, I'm gonna help you find your mother." Lizzy looked over her shoulder and saw Blondie already looking at her as he spoke, "you're one of us," he told her, "you're a Shadowhunter."

"What are you talking about?" Simon exclaimed, grabbing Lizzy's hand and pulling her over to him and Clary, ignoring Blondie's glare, "neither of you know this guy, all right? Come with me. I can get us help."

"Lizzy." Her eyes shot up to meet Blondie's mismatched ones as he held a hand out to her, "please," he pleaded.

"Clary," she heard Simon say from behind her, his grip on her hand tightening as he spoke to her sister, "come on."

Lizzy and Clary's eyes met, a silent argument shining in their eyes. It was Lizzy who spoke up first, her answer surprising all of them.

"I... I think Simon is right."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG! How are you liking this so far? I’m not making Lizzy too Mary Sue-ish, am I? I used to have a problem of making my character’s very Mary Sue-ish or just plain awful, I just hope I’ve found a middle ground. Please let me know xx
> 
> Anyway, what do you thinks going on with Lizzy? Trust me, the little episodes of badassdom will have an explanation in later chapters, though, in this one, her fighting ability had been entirely from her Krav Maga training.
> 
> I hope the anxiety attack seemed realistic, I suffer from them quite regularly but it’s still hard to describe the feeling you get when you have them.
> 
> How do you feel about Lizzy and Isabelle’s interaction? What about Lizzy and Alec? Who is Maggie and why does Valentine want her? All good questions and I would absolutely love to hear your theories.
> 
> Until next time xx


	7. The Descent Into Hell Isn't Easy Part I

_**** _

_**Lizzy's outfit for this chapter.** _

“What?!”

Three sets of voices filled Lizzy’s ears, Simon’s grip falling from her hand as he turned to look at her with disbelieving eyes. He hadn’t expected Lizzy to agree with him. Clary? Maybe. But not Lizzy. In fact, Simon had readied himself for an argument, because he knew if Lizzy didn’t come with him than Clary certainly wouldn’t. Now? Now, his mind was blank, trying to figure out something to say to fill the tense silence.

He was beaten to the punch by Blondie.

“Lizzy,” he began, moving towards her, his forehead creased as he moved the hair from his face with his hand, “you can’t be serious. Think about this… think about Clary.”

Lizzy sighed, bringing her fingers to the bridge of her nose where she pinched the skin, a new headache coming on. This one wasn’t like the earlier ones, no, this one told her she was becoming stressed and frustrated, two things that were never a good combination with Elizabeth Fray.

“I _am_ thinking about Clary,” she replied, “I want to protect my little sister.”

“And I can help.”

Lizzy moved her eyes to meet Blondie’s, “that’s the problem,” she continued, “because I need to protect her from _all_ of this. Including you and your world.” She took a step away from Blondie, moving closer to Clary who had yet to stop gaping openly at her. “I’ve known you for less than a week and I can already see just how dangerous the life you live is,” she explained, “Clary and I… we’re not Shadowhunters.”

“But you are,” Blondie tried to argue, “your fighting abilities, your runes, hell, the way you handled yourself at Pandemonium and in your apartment shows years of training. _Shadowhunter_ training. I recognise it from my time in Idris.”

“What’s Idris?” Clary asked.

“It’s like the Buckingham Palace of the Shadow World,” Lizzy explained without realising what she’d actually said. She took in a breath of air, “look,” she began again, her eyes now looking at the shoes Isabelle had lent her, “I appreciate everything you’ve done for us, really, I do. But our mum obviously wanted us out of this life…”

“But mum’s not here right now, Lizzy,” Clary finally interjected, “these Circle guys took her, and Jace is the only chance we have of getting her back.” Clary turned to Simon, grabbing his hand and holding it to her chest as she looked at him, “Simon, I think Jace can help, but I don’t want to do this without you. Please, Simon,” she pleaded, her large eyes begging him to come with her.

“How do we know this Mick Jagger-looking guy is even gonna try-”

“Mundane, we do not have the time,” Blondie hissed, his eyes no longer meeting Lizzy’s as he tried to ignore the small pang of hurt he felt at her words.

“Come on, Simon, let’s go.”

Lizzy watched as Simon caved to her little sister, both teenagers walking back towards the church hand in hand. Blondie remained where he was, his eyes still refusing to meet hers as he spoke, “Lizzy, I promise I’ll help you find your mum…”

“…I know you will,” she interrupted, “but at what costs?” she questioned, “have either of you thought of that?” Lizzy tightened her hold on her jacket as she shook her head, her still wet hair clinging to her back. “I don’t know much about the Circle, but it doesn’t take a genius to realise that they’re dangerous. I don’t want to endanger the lives of anyone in that Institute,” she continued, gesturing to the old church that Clary and Simon were waiting in front of.

“We endanger ourselves every day,” Blondie told her, his hand coming up to rest against her cheek. He moved her head so she was forced to meet his eyes, “we protect Mundanes from the shadow world. Valentine is the biggest threat the Mundane world could possibly face and now it’s our responsibility to stop him.” His other hand came up to her face, moving a wet strand of hair behind her ear, “you have no idea what you’ll be facing if you go off on your own. You could get yourself and your sister killed if Valentine’s men catch up to you.”

Lizzy shivered, a mix of the cold and fear as she heard Valentine’s name again. It was like her body instinctually shied away from any mention of the guy. Her eyes moved to look for her little sister, who was talking with Simon, their heads close as they constantly threw looks at her and Blondie. She worried her bottom lip with her teeth, thinking over everything Blondie had said and was disgruntled to realise that he had a good point.

“Fine,” she sighed, stepping away from his hands as she put her jacket on, “you’re right.”

“Of course, I am,” he grinned.

Lizzy rolled her eyes but couldn’t help the small quirk of her lips. Blondie grabbed her hand and began leading her over to the church. “What am I? Five?” she sassed, “I don’t need you to hold my hand, Blondie, I’m a big girl you know?”

She tried to shake his hand off her own but he wouldn’t let go and she glared at the back of his head as he led them passed Clary and Simon. Catching the two teenagers’ smirks, Lizzy’s eyes narrowed further. “Not. A. Word,” she hissed, pointing between the two of them, earning a couple of snickers from them before they entered the church.

“Lizzy!” Isabelle exclaimed, running up to the aforementioned girl. Lizzy didn’t miss the smirk on Isabelle’s face when she spied her and Blondie’s joined hands before she grabbed Lizzy’s free hand. “Come with me,” she told her, pulling her out of Blondie’s grip and leading her away as Clary, Simon, and Blondie spoke.

“Where are we going?” Lizzy asked, recognising the path they were taking as the way to Isabelle’s room.

“To do your hair,” Isabelle replied simple, tugging Lizzy into her bedroom and making her sit at the vanity. “Love the jacket by the way,” she complimented as she got out a curling iron and waited for it to heat up.

Lizzy smiled softly as she buried herself further into the jacket, “thanks,” she replied, “Luke got it for me to stop me from taking his all the time.”

“Who’s Luke?”

The smile fell from Lizzy’s face faster than it had appeared. “No one,” she mumbled bitterly, wanting to remove the jacket and throw it away but not having the heart to do so. Luke might have hurt her, but he was the only father she knew and Lizzy loved him more than anything.

Isabelle did an excellent job at pulling Lizzy from her sombre thoughts, and for a small amount of time, Lizzy could just pretend everything was normal. She could pretend that she had known Isabelle her whole life, and that both of them were getting ready for a girl’s night out. Lizzy could pretend that her little sister’s eighteenth birthday didn’t end with her mother being kidnapped and Lizzy almost being killed by a Ravener Demon. She could pretend that she was just Lizzy Fray, soon to be Officer Fray of the NYPD; not, Lizzy Fray, Shadowhunter.

“There,” Isabelle finally said, smiling widely as she finished curling Lizzy’s hair, “now you look perfect.”

“I always look perfect,” Lizzy sassed as she stood up and did a little twirl for Isabelle, who chuckled at the teenager.

“You and Jace are perfect for each other,” she stated simply as she turned off the curling iron.

Lizzy raised an eyebrow, “you’re kidding right? I don’t think there would be enough room in a relationship for the four of us.”

“Four?”

“Me, him, and our egos,” Lizzy smirked.

Isabelle laughed, a fully bellied laugh that had her throwing her head back and her beautiful hair spilling over her back. “Oh,” she grinned, when she managed to control her giggles, “I really do like you, Lizzy.”

Lizzy smiled softly, warmth blossoming in her chest at Isabelle’s words, “I like you too, Isabelle.”

“Then you have to call me Izzy,” she replied, entwining their fingers and closing the door to her room as they made their way back down the hall.

“Izzy and Lizzy,” Lizzy smiled, “fashion friends.”

“Sexy Shadowhunters.”

Lizzy laughed, not wanting to ruin the moment by telling Izzy she _wasn’t_ a Shadowhunter. “Who was the cute mundane I found you with?” Izzy questioned, “does Jace have competition.”

She snorted, “I’d have to like either of them romantically for there to be competition,” she replied, “and Simon is in love with Clary.”

“Ah, unrequited?”

Lizzy shrugged, “I don’t think it’s entirely unrequited.”

“So, the mundane is off limits?” Izzy pouted.

“Have at it,” Lizzy grinned slyly, “maybe if Clary sees someone other than Maureen interested, she’ll finally come to terms with her feelings.”

Izzy laughed but didn’t get a chance to reply as they finally reached the main area of the Institute. She still kept her fingers entwined with Lizzy, who just shrugged and squeezed the hand gently.

“What’s going on?” she heard Alec say as they got closer, “why is there a mundane in the Institute?”

“A circle member followed him to get to Lizzy and Clary,” Blondie replied, spotting Lizzy over Alec’s shoulder, the corner of his lips turning up as she saw her and Izzy’s entwined fingers.

“A circle rune, just like the guys who took our mother,” Clary confirmed, her eyes finally landing on Lizzy, “you okay?” she asked softly.

Lizzy shrugged, “ask me later,” she told her sister, who nodded.

“What exactly is a Circle member and why are they trying to kill us?”

“I don’t think they were trying to kill us,” Lizzy piped up, “Blondie? Maybe. But it seemed like this Valentine guy wanted Clary captured.”

“But not you?” Alec questioned, turning to Lizzy, his face pinched.

“Are your features frozen like that?” Lizzy asked instead, earning a confused look from Alec.

“Like what?”

Lizzy tilted her head to the side and smiled, “like you’ve just sucked on a lemon.” She heard four sets of sniggers as she bopped Alec on the nose, “smile a little, sweetheart.” Alec’s eyes narrowed further and Lizzy huffed, “or don’t,” she continued, “might pull something anyway.”

She heard Izzy giggle beside her and Blondie cover a laugh with a cough as Lizzy crossed her arms over her chest and pouted up at Alec, whose lips twitched before his face became blank again.

“Anyway,” Blondie chuckled, getting the attention back on him, “all we know is… a long time ago, the Circle led a revolt. A lot of Shadowhunters got killed… including my father.”

Lizzy felt a small pang of sympathy for him and took a small step forward, placing a small hand on his arm and squeezing gently as she offered him a small smile. He smiled back at her, his hand moving to hers and giving it a squeeze before Lizzy dropped it and moved back to stand by Izzy, ignoring the way the gorgeous brunette was smirking at her.

“And since the revolt we’ve been forbidden to even hear about the Circle,” Alec finished.

“Just squares and triangles then?” Lizzy questioned, trying to diffuse the steadily rising tension. She shrugged when she received a bunch of blank stares and an ‘are you serious, right now?’ look from Clary and Simon, “it made sense in my head,” she told them all.

Clary shook her head at her older sister and turned to look at Blondie, “but, how’s that even possible? It’s your history.”

“Says the girl who didn’t know she was a Shadowhunter?”

“Awkward,” Lizzy coughed, earning another giggle from Izzy and a twitch of the lips from Alec. Lizzy gasped, pointing at the usually brooding man, “did you just smile?”

“No,” he grunted, his face going blank again.

“I think you did,” she sang, poking him lightly in the chest, “I think you like me, Mr. Lightwood.”

Alec grunted again, not agreeing nor denying her claim and Lizzy was internally dancing as she grinned widely at Izzy. Izzy just laughed at the teenager.

“… someone out there who can tell us why they’ve taken our mother.”

Lizzy shook her head as she zeroed back in on the conversation that had been happening in front of her.

“There is,” Blondie nodded, looking at Lizzy, “you coming?”

“Not in public,” she answered amusedly.

“Lizzy!” Clary hissed.

“What?!” Lizzy retorted.

“Can you be any cruder?” her little sister questioned, her eyes narrowed. Lizzy opened her mouth only for Clary to cover it with her hand, “never mind,” she muttered, “I-I really don’t want to know.”

“I do,” Blondie smirked.

Lizzy smirked back, though it wasn’t visible because Clary’s hand was still covering her mouth.

“Lizzy!” Clary shrieked, pulling her hand away from Lizzy mouth, “you bit me!”

“You’ll live,” she shrugged, “lead the way, Blondie.”

“My name’s Jace,” he told her.

Lizzy shrugged, “we’re not on a first name basis yet.”

“You call Alec and Izzy by their names,” he retorted.

“I like Alec and Izzy.”

“And you don’t like me?” Lizzy shrugged. “Everyone likes me,” Blondie answered, looking offended.

Lizzy patted his shoulder in mock-kindness, “whatever helps you sleep at night.”

Blondie huffed, but Lizzy didn’t miss the way his lips twitched. Simon and Clary went to follow after him when he turned around only for Simon to be stopped by Blondie. “No, no, no. Not you,” he said.

“Hey, we’re a package deal,” Clary argued.

Lizzy threw a ‘see what I mean’ look over her shoulder at Izzy who smirked and nodded.

“There are runes all over the training room floor that would kill your Mundie boyfriend.”

She watched as Clary and Simon flushed before they both started stuttering.

“H-he’s not my-”

“I-I’m not, like – we’re, uh, just friends,” Simon stammered.

“Best friends,” Clary added, throwing her arm around Simon who smiled softly at her.

Lizzy face palmed, behind the two teens, an action that didn’t go unseen by Blondie. She met his gaze and rolled her eyes at her sister and her friend, making Blondie smile and Lizzy wink at him before her face went blank as Clary turned to face her. Lizzy gave Clary a ‘what?’ look before smiling innocently.

“Yeah, and I’m tough,” Simon continued, smacking Blondie playfully in the chest only to pull his hand away and shake it, trying to hide the small wince from Clary when he did. “I can handle runes. So, uh, bring on the runes.” Simon looked to Lizzy, “what exactly is a rune?”

“Yeah, because I’ve totally read Shadowhunters 101,” she replied sarcastically, “how the hell am I supposed to know, Si?”

“They give Shadowhunters our demon-fighting powers,” Izzy answered, finally coming forward as she activated one of the symbols on her arm with her stele.

“So hot,” Simon muttered.

Lizzy snorted, Izzy smiled, and Alec, Blondie, and Clary frowned. Blondie cleared his throat and Lizzy watched as Simon jumped, “uh, t-the rune,” he added.

She watched the small interaction between Izzy and Simon, her eyes flickering to Clary to see her sister standing with her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed slightly at Izzy. Lizzy honestly wished Clary would just come clean about liking Simon, but when she saw the red-head look away she knew that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

Lizzy tried her hardest not to snort as Simon introduced himself to Izzy before Blondie was assuring Clary that he was in safe hands.

“Jace,” Clary sighed, “if anything happens to him…”

“Go on, I’ll be fine. I think,” Simon assured her.

Clary turned her gaze to Lizzy who had been oddly silent through the exchange but the older girl wasn’t looking at any of them and seemed to be staring off into space. Clary coughed loudly and Lizzy jumped, her eyes refocusing as she turned her gaze to her little sister. “Were you even listening?” Clary questioned.

“Uh, no?” Lizzy replied.

Clary rolled her eyes and turned to Blondie, “where are we going?”

“Training room,” he replied before he turned to look at Lizzy, “come on.”

“Actually,” Lizzy spoke up, “I think I’ll stay here with Alec.”

“What?” Alec, Clary, and Blondie asked.

Lizzy smiled at Alec, “we don’t all need to talk to whoever it is you’re going to talk to,” she answered, her gaze returning to her little sister, “besides, you’ll tell me everything they say, right?”

“Of course,” Clary assured her.

“Then I’m going to stay with Alec and hopefully you can find out something about the bastards who took mum.”

Clary nodded, knowing there was no use arguing with her sister. She turned and started making her way across the room, “Jace, coming?”

“Yeah,” Blondie answered, dragging his eyes away from Lizzy who had already turned to talk to Alec, “I’m coming.”

* * *

“That’s Hodge Starkweather, our weapons trainer,” Jace explained to Clary as they watched a duel between Hodge and a woman, “and, more important for us, a former Circle member. After, the uprising, Hodge repented and he was sent to live and work here to make amends. But he’s forbidden to ever leave the Institute.” 

They approached Hodge when the duel was over and Hodge’s attention immediately fell on Clary. “Jocelyn,” he breathed.

Clary huffed nervously, wishing Lizzy had actually come with her, “uh, I’m Clary. Uh, Jocelyn Fray is my mother.”

“Well, she was Jocelyn Fairchild when I knew her. And she was one of my best friends.”

“She’s been kidnapped,” Clary began, her breath hitching as she blinked away tears, “by someone named Valentine and his men.”

“By the Circle, Hodge,” Jace added, his arms folded over his chest as he threw a look over his shoulder. He smiled softly as he saw Lizzy talking animatedly to Alec, his parabatai keeping a blank face but Jace could see the soft look in his eyes as he watched Lizzy wave her hands around and laugh.

“But that’s impossible,” Hodge replied, “Valentine’s dead and the Circle died with him.”

The sound of sizzling and the smell of burning flesh had Clary’s eyes widening in horror as she spied the red circle on Hodge’s neck. “What’s happening?” she breathed, taking a cautious step back.

“I swore a vow never to speak of what we did. This is the Clave’s way of making sure I keep that vow,” Hodge explained through gritted teeth.

“W-we can’t torture him, Jace. Is there anyone else we can ask?”

Jace shook his head, relief washing through him that Lizzy had actually decided not to come just so he wouldn’t have to see the same horrified expression on her face as he saw on her sister’s.

“If the Circle is really back… and they’ve taken Jocelyn… Our leader… Our leader of the Circle was Valentine Morgenstern. We thought he wanted to protect humans, like all Shadowhunters. But we never realised the lengths which Valentine was willing to go… the people he was willing to sacrifice. Most of humanity would die if we carried out Valentine’s plan.”

Clary couldn’t believe what she was hearing, or what any of this had to do with her mother. So, she asked, and when Hodge gave her the answer she really wished she hadn’t.

“Jocelyn was a member of the Circle as well.”

* * *

“So,” Lizzy began again, her conversation with Alec thus far completely one sided. Anyone less would have given up by now, aware that he wasn’t going to talk, but Lizzy was stubborn and she was determined to get Alec to open up to her a little. “You shoot a bow, yeah?” she asked, vaguely recalling him using one at the club. Alec grunted and Lizzy rolled her eyes, “so, you’re like, the male version of Katniss?"

“Who?” Alec finally asked, turning away from the monitor he had been watching to look down at Lizzy.

“Katniss.” Seeing the blank look in his eyes, Lizzy collaborated, “the Hunger Games?”

Blank look.

“Okay, how about Hawkeye?”

Nothing.

“Legolas?”

Nada.

“Green Arrow?”

Nope?

“Robin Hood?” When Alec’s face remained blank, Lizzy gaped at him, “seriously? Everyone’s heard of Robin Hood!” His expression didn’t change and Lizzy continued, “expert archer? Never misses? Takes from the rich and gives to the poor? Is any of this ringing a bell?”

Alec’s face didn’t change and Lizzy continued to gape at him before she physically shook her surprise off. “Anyway,” she coughed, “you’re good with a bow, yeah?” Another grunt. “Can you show me?” Lizzy asked.

“Why?”

Lizzy rolled her eyes at the monosyllabic reply. “Because I want to see how good you are,” she answered.

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Pretty please?”

“No.”

“Alec,” she whined, drawing his name out as she entwined her fingers and looked up at him with a pout and wide eyes, “please, please, please, please, please…”

“…if I say yes will you shut up?!” Alec exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

“Yes.”

“Fine!” Alec growled, moving over to the weapons hold to grab him bow and quiver.

“Yes!” Lizzy cheered, fist pumping the air. Alec turned to glare at her and she smiled innocently, “shutting up now,” she assured him, scurrying to catch up with him and ready to see just how good he was.

* * *

“Clary, the Mortal Cup is the most important object in the Shadow World,” Jace explained as he supported a heavily panting Hodge, “whoever possesses it can create more Shadowhunters."

“And in the wrong hands… control demons,” Hodge added through tightly clenched teeth. “If Jocelyn hid the Cup from Valentine, then she’s in more danger than you can possibly imagine.”

Hodge fell to the ground as the circle burned brighter and more intensely.

“Hodge,” Jace muttered, trying to help his trainer and friend.

“I hate to make you suffer,” Clary cried, watching the man writhe with no small amount of guilt and horror.

“I’m so sorry,” Hodge told her, “your mother was only trying to protect you. And now you must protect her. Stop Valentine… before he destroys us all.”

Clary had so many more questions she wanted to ask but it was Jace who spoke first, “Clary, do either you or Lizzy know where the cup might be?”

“Who’s Lizzy?” Hodge groaned, finally managing to get to his feet as the burning subsided.

“Clary’s older sister.”

“That’s not possible,” Hodge interjected before Clary could answer.

“What are you talking about?” Jace questioned, “you said Jocelyn was your best friend…”

“…which is how I know Jocelyn doesn’t have another daughter,” Hodge answered, looking at Clary who was shuffling nervously, “Jocelyn disappeared almost nineteen years ago, and when she did she didn’t have a daughter. If Lizzy really was her daughter I would have known.”

Jace looked at Clary who refused to meet his eyes. “Clary, what is he talking about?” he asked, taking a step forward.

“I-I-I,” Clary stuttered, “I’ve got to go.”

Clary turned on her heels and hightailed it out of the training room, Jace hot on her heels. “Clary!” he called as he jogged after her, “Clary, hey! Will you just stop for a minute?” He grabbed Clary’s arm and pulled her into an empty hallway, away from prying eyes or ears, “why would Hodge think Lizzy wasn’t your sister?”

“Lizzy _is_ my sister,” Clary hissed, ripping her arm from Jace’s grip as she glared at him, her heart racing in her chest.

“But?” Jace asked, knowing there was more to it that Clary wasn’t saying.

“But, what, Jace?” she muttered, running her fingers through her hair, “what more do you want me to say?”

“I want you to tell me the truth, Clary!” Jace exclaimed, his frustration with the teenager growing.

Clary fell against the wall, her back pressed firmly against it as she stared up at the ceiling, her eyes misty. “Lizzy _is_ my sister,” she muttered, “but we aren’t biologically related.”

Jace had been expecting the answer but found himself surprised none the less.

“When Lizzy was ten, Luke found her wandering the streets,” Clary explained, unable to meet Jace’s gaze as she spoke of something she had never spoke of with anyone but Simon. “She was battered and bruised, wouldn’t speak a word to anyone, and seemed far more frightened than any child should have been,” she continued, remembering the day Luke came home with Lizzy.

She had been so small, smaller than Clary, with her long brunette hair in tangles and scratches littering her face and hands. Clary remembered how much smaller she looked in Luke’s jacket, the sleeves falling long passed her hands and the jackets swallowing her. She had barely been able to see the scuffed shoes Lizzy had been wearing that day.

“You didn’t find it strange that no one filed a missing persons report?” Jace asked, leaning against the opposite wall.

Clary glared at him, “I was _nine_ , Jace.” She took in a deep breath and continued, “months went by and eventually mum said Lizzy was going to be staying with us, that she would be my new sister.” Clary smiled softly, “I’d always wanted a sister, and even though Lizzy barely spoke, I’d grown to love her. So, had mum and Luke.”

“Why didn’t Lizzy tell us she was adopted?”

“Because she doesn’t know,” Clary answered, “when Luke found Lizzy, she couldn’t remember anything except her name and how old she was.”

“That doesn’t explain how she doesn’t know she’s adopted,” Jace reasoned.

Clary furrowed her brows, knowing he had a point, “I don’t know why she doesn’t know,” she breathed, “mum just said we were never allowed to mention it to her and Lizzy seemed to always believe we were biologically related. In fact,” she began, her brows furrowing further and her lips turning down in a frown.

“What?”

“Well,” she coughed, “it’s just… Lizzy has _memories_ of growing up with me,” she explained, “she can recount every birthday, every holiday, everything, since she was really little. If I hadn’t known she was adopted I’d have actually believed we were biologically related.”

Jace frowned.

“How is that possible?” Clary asked, looking to Jace for answers.

“That’s not the most important question right now,” Jace replied with a shake of his head.

“Than what is?” Clary huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jace looked back towards the training rooms where he had seen Alec leading Lizzy, his bow in his hands and an aggravated yet amused look on his face. His eyes slowly returned to Clary’s, the frown never leaving his face.

“If Lizzy isn’t a Fray… who is she?"


End file.
